Darrel R. Gibson follows in the footsteps of his father, Darrel W. Gibson.

The son is Menomonie Municipal Airport manager and owns Gibson Aviation Services in Menomonie. His father was Eau Claire Municipal Airport manager and owned Gibson Aviation Service in Eau Claire.

“He has big shoes to fill,” Darrel W. said.

Indeed. The senior Gibson, who lives near Chippewa Valley Regional Airport in Eau Claire, was set to be inducted into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame in Oshkosh this weekend.

Plaques honoring inductees hang in the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, where thousands attend the annual fly-in of the Experimental Aircraft Association.

“He had a great career in aviation,” Rose Dorcey, president of the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame, said of Gibson. The nonprofit is dedicated to preserving Wisconsin aviation history, recognizing those who made that history and promoting aviation education.

Darrel W., a Durand native, founded Gibson Aviation in 1961 and served as Eau Claire Municipal Airport manager from 1961 to 1976.

As a youngster, Darrel W. built airplane models. He took flying lessons about the time he graduated from high school in 1951.

“It kind of gets in your blood. After you get started, it’s pretty hard to quit,” said Gibson, 82, who still flies his 1946 two-seat Ercoupe airplane.

“It’s really a privilege to look at all the terrain in the country and be able to see it all from the air.”

Gibson got his start in aviation as an aircraft mechanic. He attended an air frame and engine school in Chicago, where he worked for United Airlines at Midway Airport.

In Chicago, Gibson earned his private pilot license after he and his wife, Cleo, bought a 1948 Taylorcraft BC-12D and rebuilt it in their landlord’s garage. The restoration included installing a new fabric covering of Irish linen, he said.

They moved to Eau Claire in 1959, and he worked at Badger Aviation at the airport before starting his business.

Under Gibson’s watch, the airport made many improvements, including a runway expansion to accommodate large DC-9 jet airliners, North Central Airlines’ move into the terminal building and the purchase of military surplus equipment for airport maintenance.

“DC-9s do not even like an inch of snow on the ground,” Gibson said, so snow had to be removed almost as soon as it began falling.